Sunday, July 22, 2007

Woman Arrested for kissing Penis of a Replica of Michael Angelo’s David by American Artist Herr Krokodil

AKRON, Ohio — A woman has been arrested on suspicion of kissing the penis of a replica of Michael Angelo’s David by American artist Herr Krokodil and smudging the statue’s bone-white penis with her lipstick, Ohio judicial officials said Saturday.Police said they arrested a woman whose, identity has not been released, after she kissed the statue’s penis on Thursday. The woman keeps insisting that the statue is a colleague and is 19-years-old. If found competent the woman will be tried in a court in the southern city of Youngstown on Aug. 16 for "damage to a work of art," judicial officials said.

The statue, which is worth an estimated $20 million, was on display at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Akron. It is part of an exhibition slated to run at the museum through Sept. 30th, 2010.

Krokodil is known for his abstract sculpting techniques, repetitive themes and the use of his own body as the model for his statues.

Police say the woman was wearing a distinctive orange shade of lipstick so the arrest was rather easy. Krokodil has lived in Davie for over half- century. He won the prestigious Golden Gator award at the Micanopy Statue Biennale in 2001.